ShareLeft alone in his apartment, 4-year-old Rashed lit a tissue box, not knowing what he was doing. A fire erupted and the boy didn’t know what to do. Frightened Rashed tossed the flaming tissue box into a nearby cabinet. As the fire spread out of the cabinet and to nearby objects, the boy got scared and hid under his bed. “We found him after an hour. It was a heartbreaking sight. We couldn’t distinguish the boy from the charred remains of the furniture,” Ali Aldagher, a firefighter with Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) said, recalling an incident that occurred in Jaber Al-Ali in 2017 that turned out to be an eye-opener for many and served as a stark reminder for the local parent community.
“If asked whether I sympathized with Rashed’s parents, I would say no, because it was their responsibility. They failed in their responsibility,” Aldagher told Kuwait Times. As he emphasized the responsibility of the parents, he said there was neither a smoke detector nor a fire extinguisher in their apartment. “They didn’t teach their kid what to do in case of an emergency,” he said.
Rashed’s shocking death and the bloodcurdling incident prompted him to come up with “Junior Firefighter”, a book that teaches children what to do in case of an emergency and explains survival skills. Around 70,000 copies both Arabic and English were printed and were given away to school children and their parents. The book was sponsored by EQUATE Petrochemical company, he said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kuwait Fire Force launched a major campaign in schools across Kuwait educating children on what to do in the event of a fire and giving them some tips on fire safety.
Aldagher also recounted the events that led to the invention of ‘Firebot’, a tank-like robot that can sense radiation and the presence of hazardous chemicals and warn of possible fire risks. “After my graduation, I was invited to assist an English professor at the American University of Kuwait. Then the university found out that I am also a firefighter with the Kuwait Fire Force,” he said. He explained how he got everything assembled piece by piece with the help of the students.
“Firebot was a capstone project for Kuwait. It is fitted with a camera and can be controlled using a smartphone. Students from five semesters in a row worked on it with me until we reached the final stage,” he said. Asked why he didn’t think of manufacturing Firebot commercially, he said he will give it a try. “It requires factory funding,” he said.
Talking about the biggest Kuwaiti flag that was raised on GCC’s highest mountain Jebel Shams, Aldagher said it was an exciting experience. “They were proud moments for all of us to raise the biggest flag in the world atop the highest peak in the GCC on a National Day in 2022 and hoist the biggest Kuwaiti flag inside a cave in Oman in 2023,” he said. “If the first one was a dangerous mission, the second one was nearly a mission impossible. I don’t think anyone can do it again,” he insisted.
Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun - 3,009 m) in Oman is the highest peak in GCC and is best known for the view into the spectacularly deep Wadi Ghul lying alongside it. Recalling the experience inside The Seventh Hole Cave in Oman, Aldagher said: “We had to hang on a rope for 45 minutes to complete the job of raising the flag inside the cave. We were 15 on the mission.”
The Seventh Hole derives its name from being the seventh hole or access point found on the plateau. There are miles of passageways and chambers carved through the soft limestone, hidden below the surface. “It was very fascinating, and something I learned about it only on this recent trip,” he said. “It is historic. We covered the core of the cave and the flag was as big as a football ground,” he said. These missions on National Day earned them a place in the prestigious Guinness World Records. “In fact, we didn’t break a record, but we established it,” he said.
In the efforts to raise the flag in the cave, many sustained injuries, while some got trapped inside the labyrinth of the cave. Along with high-ranking KFF officers Yousef Al-Gallaf and Khaled W Al-Kanaan, they rescued the trapped people.
Aldagher joined KFF in 2010. “It is a risky profession as the stress firefighters endure can lead to mental disorders. Firefighters can sustain critical injuries such as fractures and traumatic brain injuries from falling debris and collapsing structures. Once I had to be revived as I became unconscious after smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion. I also had poor blood circulation,” he said.
“But as a professional firefighter, I love my job. It is a noble job,” he added. Aldagher, who is also passionate about cinema, acting and writing said: “I love writing poetry. If I get to choose to lose everything for writing poetry, I will choose writing poetry.”
